Living Off the Land: Starting Out in Self Sufficiency

The self sufficient lifestyle is one admired and revered in this age of eco-friendly products and environmental awareness – the idea of living off the land is appealing for a number of reasons, not least because it’s certainly more cost effective while the recession is prominent. If you are thinking of beginning a self sufficient life, there are some preparations you can make to ensure a smooth transition into this lifestyle.

Prepare the Land for Growing Vegetables

Whether you are thinking of growing fruit and vegetables in your back garden or using an allotment, it will help you in the long run if you prepare the land before you start. Make sure your soil is rich and healthy so that the food you grow is in the best surroundings to create plenty of usable produce for you to use. It also helps to plan ahead so that you know what to grow at certain points in the year – this will help you ensure that you have enough food throughout the year.

Get Livestock

If space permits, livestock will help you live a far more successful self sufficient life. Whether you decide to get chickens for eggs or goats for milk, the necessity for livestock is high when living this kind of life. The produce you can glean from them will also help you barter or exchange goods with local shopkeepers or companies, as it will be of more use to them than just exchanging fruit and vegetables.

Barter or Exchange Products for Goods You Need

On the theme of bartering, this can work in your favor in terms of products that you need. Think about what is of most use to you and then look to seek out companies who can provide this for you – if you do decide to get livestock, this can be particularly useful for items such as poultry supplies or products for housing the animals correctly.

Sell Your Produce

An easy way to support yourself when living the greener lifestyle is to sell home-grown produce at farmers markets or independent fairs. This could be anything from fruit and vegetables to jams, eggs and chutneys. If you have any surplus stock, this can be a great way to put it to good use without having to waste it. It also means that throughout the year you have the opportunity to make a little extra money to put towards growing more produce or food for your livestock.

Make Do and Mend

A key attribute to this lifestyle is the ability to make use of the clothes or equipment that you have without the need to replace things each time, as funds will be scarce. This is especially the case when it comes to products that you would have once bought at the supermarket, such as household cleaning products. There is a homemade version of almost every cleaning product that will cost you a fraction of the price without you having to compromise on the quality.

The eco-friendly life is one we all aspire to but it takes a lot of planning to run as smoothly as possible. By taking the time to plan ahead with a few things, you can ensure you have food and produce to use or sell throughout the year to help you live the greener life.

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Sarah used to live in the city, but she has now moved to the outskirts of town so that she can fully embrace a self-sufficient lifestyle.